Amtrak Piedmont has largest U.S. ridership increase

North Carolina’s Amtrak Piedmont, the Amtrak train that travels between Raleigh and Charlotte four times daily, saw a 46 percent increase in ridership in fiscal 2010, the largest increase among Amtrak routes in the nation, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The Piedmont train’s increased number of riders stemmed in part from the addition of midday service in June. North Carolina’s Amtrak ridership increased by 15 percent, from 688,595 riders in fiscal 2009 to 791,157 in fiscal 2010. Ticket revenues increased more than 19 percent for Amtrak in North Carolina.

Nationally, Amtrak ridership grew 5.7 percent over 2009 from just more than 27 million to 28.7 million passengers in 2010. Revenues increased nearly 9 percent in the same period.